| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | (1978-09-22)22 September 1978 (age 46) | ||
| Place of birth | Denmark | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Denmark (manager) | ||
| Managerial career | |||
| Years | Team | ||
| 2003 | Albertslund IF (U17) | ||
| 2003–2004 | Norwich City (technical youth coach) | ||
| 2004–2008 | Hvidovre IF (U19) | ||
| 2008 | Hvidovre IF (interim) | ||
| 2009–2012 | FC Copenhagen (U19) | ||
| 2012–2015 | FC Copenhagen (assistant) | ||
| 2015–2018 | FC Copenhagen (U19) | ||
| 2018–2022 | Brentford (assistant) | ||
| 2022–2024 | Anderlecht | ||
| 2024– | Denmark | ||
Brian Riemer (born 22 September 1978) is a Danish football coach who serves as manager of theDenmark national football team.
Riemer had previously managed Anderlecht after serving for four years as assistant coach atBrentford toThomas Frank.[1] Prior to Brentford, he was an assistant in the Danish league withFC Copenhagen.
Riemer started coaching in his native Denmark with the Albertslund Under-17 team while in his mid-twenties, before being approached after a match against them by his equivalent atHvidovre IF,Thomas Frank to join him in coaching that club's youths.[2] Riemer took charge of the Under-19 squad in 2004, holding the position for four years.
During his time at Hvidovre, Riemer also had a brief spell as a technical youth coach atNorwich City while still in his mid-twenties, working part-time while still coaching in Denmark.[3]
He stepped up following the sacking of Tom Nielsen to take charge of the Hvidovre first team in November 2008 for their final two First Division games of the year before the winter break, winning both - 2–0 away atNykøbing and 4–1 atKøge BK.
Riemer then moved to the capital to take up the same youth and development role atFC Copenhagen in 2009.
The decision of then Copenhagen assistant coachJohan Lange to move withStåle Solbakken toWolves[4] saw new FCK bossAriël Jacobs promote Riemer from Under-19 coach to be his assistant for the senior team.[5][6]
Copenhagen won the2012–13 Danish Superliga title in their first season under Jacobs and Riemer, qualifying them for the2013–14 UEFA Champions League.[7] But five winless games into the next campaign, Jacobs was sacked with Copenhagen near the bottom, prompting the return of Solbakken.[8]
Riemer was retained as assistant coach by Solbakken, and FC Copenhagen finished second over the next two seasons. In 2015, Riemer returned to duties as Copenhagen youth coach at his request, and stayed in this position for another three years. Riemer's position as assistant coach was given toPeter Wettergren.[9]
On 26 October 2018, Riemer was recruited to become assistant head coach atEFL Championship side Brentford by his former coaching colleague in Denmark, Thomas Frank,[1] three months short of fulfilling a full decade at Copenhagen.
Together, Frank and Riemer helped Brentford to promotion in the2020–21 EFL Championship, guiding the Bees to their first English top-flight campaign since1946–47. The2021–22 Premier League saw them finish 13th, closer in points to the European places than the relegation spots. Reimer departed midway through Brentford's second season in thePremier League.
Recruited by newly appointed Anderlecht Sports CEOJesper Fredberg - a fellow Dane - during the six-week break caused by the November-December staging of the2022 FIFA World Cup, Riemer took the reins on 2 December 2022 with Anderlecht 12th in the league.
However, he struggled to get the Brussels club away from the relegation zone until the final few weeks of the season, with the Mauves finishing 11th in the2022–23 Belgian Pro League, their lowest finish since 1937.[10]
Making a series of ambitious signings during the summer 2023 transfer window, includingAnders Dreyer,Kasper Dolberg,Thomas Delaney,Kasper Schmeichel andThorgan Hazard,[11] Anderlecht had pushed their way up to second in the league table by Christmas 2023, on the way to building their first proper title challenge since last winning the league in 2017.
Because Riemer's first league game for Anderlecht was played on 26 December 2022 and he spent Christmas alone in Brussels, he was allowed fly home to Denmark on Christmas Eve the following year to spend Christmas with his family,[12] before returning on the 26th for the traditionalTweede Kerstdag game againstCercle Brugge, which Anderlecht won 2-0.[13][14]
Anderlecht finished third in the2023-24 Belgian Pro League season, still in with a chance of winning the title on the final day, but losing 3-1 away toRoyal Antwerp. It was Anderlecht's best finish since 2021.
Riemer was sacked on 19 September 2024 due to what the club called their "insufficient performance", despite being fourth at the time of Riemer's sacking, having just suffered their first league defeat of the season at the hands of league leadersRacing Genk in a game that would have put them top had they won. The Mauves were unbeaten in their first six matches prior to this and had led for much of the campaign up to this point. This defeat meaning Anderlecht had picked up one point from their last three games.[15]
On 24 October 2024, Riemer was named new manager of theDanish national football team.[16]
On 23 March 2025, he led Denmark to theNations League quarter-finals,[17] which ended in a 5–3 aggregate loss for Denmark after extra time againstPortugal; this was the first time that Denmark had qualified for the knockout stage of theUEFA Nations League.[18]
As of 23 March 2025
| Team | From | To | Record | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| G | W | D | L | Win % | ||||||
| Hvidovre IF (interim) | 10 November 2008 | 31 December 2008 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 100.00 | |||
| Anderlecht | 2 December 2022 | 19 September 2024 | 76 | 39 | 20 | 17 | 051.32 | |||
| Denmark | 24 October 2024 | Present | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 025.00 | |||
| Career total | 82 | 42 | 21 | 19 | 051.22 | |||||